1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to glass shaping devices and more particularly to a glass shaping machine wherein the edge of a glass object such as stained or beveled glass may be finished for assembly, for scoring, breaking or sawing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, the shaping of stained glass has been accomplished by the use of a grozer-router edging machine. This machine includes a mounted motor with a diamond plated grinding head, a removable aluminum or plastic work surface and a single-speed, single-phase motor. The work surface used often formed a water reservoir that served as a cooling medium and lubricant for the grinding head. A sponge was placed behind the grinding head in a reservoir to draw and direct cooling water to the grinding head. The grinding head was comprised of brass, stainless steel or other metal and was physically connected to the shaft of the mounted motor by a setscrew. The grinding head supported a grinding ring formed by a sintered matrix process utilizing soft iron, fillers and diamonds heat fused together or by a nickel plating which acted as a binder to hold the diamonds in place.
As the glass is edged, by-products of the silica glass produced by the grinding combine with the cooling water to form a residue called slurry. After slurry sets, it tends to cause permanent seizure of the metallic grinding head to the motor shaft. This presents the problem of not being able to remove the head.
Another problem concerned the metallic and plastic work surfaces. The prior art discloses work surfaces that must be removed from the apparatus to be cleaned and in particular the metallic work surface had the potential of scratching the glass object being edged.
A major problem with the prior art edgers was that of inadequate motor speed. The basic apparatus did not offer a variable speed motor and thus the same edging speed was used for each type of glass and the speed was limited to low-to-medium revolutions per minute (RPM).
There are many devices of the prior art that include these problems. Some devices are for bevel routing, radius or perpendicular edge routing and sculpture routing which grind the edge or surface of the glass. These devices were of low to medium RPM and usually included a removable work surface made of aluminum that could scratch the glass. The bevelers and routers of the prior art did not have a multi-speed capability available in a 120 volt, single phase, 50 or 60 Hertz edition for home and shop use. There still is a need for an edger with an integral work surface which accelerates the flow of slurry, completely supports the glass being edged and does not require removal for effective cleanup. Additionally, there is also a need for a non-metallic grinding support head that will not seize to the motor shaft if the slurry hardens. Finally there is a continuing need for a very high speed device with a variable speed control to improve grinding efficiency, reduce glass chipping and be utilized for proposed sawing and/or engraving glass surfaces.